Thread: Please review my workout and comment

Move cleans to be the first exercise in your workout and swap the number of sets/reps. There's not much point in doing cleans for high reps. 6-8x2-3 is a good rep range for them.

You also want to do them when your fresh because form is really important.

Also, are you still making progress toward your goals or have you stalled?

Day 1: Upper Body

Bench press (flat bench) - 2 sets, 6-12 reps/set
Bench press (incline) - 2 sets, 6-12 reps/set
Wide grip pull-ups (sometimes close grip I alternate)-3 sets, 6-10 reps/set
Barbell rows - 4 sets, 6-12 reps/set
Dips - 4 sets, 6-12 reps/set

No enough sets of pull-ups for my taste. I would add 3 sets of chins, and then drop the barbell rows to 2 sets. I would drop the dips, add a set of bench and add 2-3 sets of french press.

*If I have energy at the end of the workout sometimes I do a quick two heavy sets of barbell curls.

Chins would make this unnecessary.

For chest I alternate where one day I will use barbell and next day dumbbells.

Good idea, this could also apply to the rows.

Day 2: REST

Day 3: Lower Body/ Shoulders

Squats - 4 sets, 8-15 reps/set
Deadlifts - 2 sets, 6-12 reps/set
Shoulder press - 3 sets, 6-12 reps/set
Power cleans - 2 sets, 6-8 reps/set

There's no calf exercises?
Mixing in corner press for shoulders is always a good idea.


*Every second "lower body / shoulder" workout day I will alternate where one day I will do 4 sets heavy squats and 2 lighters sets of dead lifts and the next lower body day I will do 4 heavy sets of deads and 2 lighter sets of squats.

Good idea, but if you spread your workout over a larger period of time this would be unnecessary.

Day 4: REST

Day 5: Repeat Cycle starting with Day 1

So basically my training days are always different week to week since I alternate with one day in the gym and one day rest. I get three days rest before performing the same workout again and one day rest between any workout.

The bold part is confusing since you state above it that you repeat the same workout starting on day 5?



If you feel you're doing to much then you probably are. Try increasing your rest periods between workouts or spreading out the exercises over a longer period of time.

Squats, deads, and cleans are plenty of stimulation for the calves. I don't see a reason to do more.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

Squats, deads, and cleans are plenty of stimulation for the calves. I don't see a reason to do more.

I do.

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

I do.

What reason is that?

Originally Posted by gtbmed

What reason is that?

correct me if i'm wrong, but the reason why is because you have no direct work out for the calves. and the calves are a muscle that will not really benefit all that much from a non isolated movement.

Tell this guy that cleans don't directly work the calves:

again i have also been told that calves are a muscle that need to be worked through many reps, very elastic i guess? how many reps do you think that guy is going to get?

Originally Posted by gtbmed

What reason is that?

Calves are generally very stubborn for most, and need alot of stimulation. Squats and deads do very litlle for calves. I don't do cleans, but i'd be willing to bet "that guy" trains his calves separately as well.

I highly doubt he trains calves separately. He's an olympic weightlifter - what would be the point in him training his calves in isolation?

Cleans are a huge stimulation for the calves if you do them right.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

I highly doubt he trains calves separately. He's an olympic weightlifter - what would be the point in him training his calves in isolation?

To improve his lift. The same reason as any powerlifter would. Strengthening secondary muscles that assist you in your primary lift can help you break through plateaus.

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

To improve his lift. The same reason as any powerlifter would. Strengthening secondary muscles that assist you in your primary lift can help you break through plateaus.

Agreed. Powerlifters still use supplementary exercises to assist their primarily lfits. I would imagine this guy would do some extra calf training. Sure, it probably wouldn't be controlled supersets of smith and DB calf raises as bodybuilders see it, but isolation nonetheless.

Also, this guy could be a genetic freak. Most powerlifters are either just fucking huge from muscle and tons of fat or are a lot smaller than you'd think they would be for the loads they're lifting.

Most powerlifter pictures I've seen were not like this.

Also, even if power cleans do heavily work the calves, remember that most of us on here aren't elite power lifters. Sure, if all you're doing all day is intense heavy cleaning and other power lifts then maybe your calves will become massive. But to most of us, they're just a part of a program that is generally dominanted by strength-oriented lifts for the sake of muscle development and strength. We're not pushing the same loads as these guys, nor the volume on that lift. So, while they could maybe get the calf stimulation, that doesn't mean we will.

Besides, will throwing in some calf isolation at the end of a session really interfere that much? They heal ridiculously fast.

Hey guys thanks for all your tips. Regarding calves, there is a reason I shy away from training them. As you probably already know, calves are extremely difficult to develop for most people. For some odd reason I have been gifted with big, full and somewhat defined calves. In fact, people have complimented me on them on numerous occasions and are quite surprised I don't train them. Now here's the kicker, I started training calves a few years ago and after a few months I actually noticed them getting smaller and more dinky. Yes, I know they probably got stronger (I particularly didn't notice) but I'm not going to put effort into training calves separately when the result will be them getting smaller. As some have mentioned above, I hit them secondarily on some of my lifts and by isolating them I loose mass in that area.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

Move cleans to be the first exercise in your workout and swap the number of sets/reps. There's not much point in doing cleans for high reps. 6-8x2-3 is a good rep range for them.

You also want to do them when your fresh because form is really important.

Also, are you still making progress toward your goals or have you stalled?

Yes I feel that I sort of have stalled so I know changing up the routine is in due order soon. I seem to have hit plateau on chest and back but still continue to improve on dips and wide grip pull ups. I'm going to post revised routine, perhaps you guys can have a look and let me know what you think.

Originally Posted by CaptainNapalm

For some odd reason I have been gifted with big, full and somewhat defined calves. In fact, people have complimented me on them on numerous occasions and are quite surprised I don't train them.

Im reminded of an Entourage episode where Drama is sulking about his calves all day and wants implants, they go to a party and there is a guy with huge natural calves and Drama asks him if they are real or fake. Good shit.

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

To improve his lift. The same reason as any powerlifter would. Strengthening secondary muscles that assist you in your primary lift can help you break through plateaus.

He's an olympic weightlifter. Their training is usually very simple - a lot of cleans, a lot of snatches, a lot of squats, and some pulls.

Now he may do some jump shrugs to work on the second pull, but he's not going to be sitting on a machine doing calf raises.

Also, there's a big difference between a powerlifter and an olympic lifter that gets confused here. Powerlifters may not have the best calves - they aren't doing cleans. Anyone doing cleans is getting a ton of primary stimulation to those muscles. Look at the position a lifter is in during the 2nd pull of a clean and tell me that the calves aren't doing a ton of work in that lift.

Originally Posted by CaptainNapalm

Yes I feel that I sort of have stalled so I know changing up the routine is in due order soon. I seem to have hit plateau on chest and back but still continue to improve on dips and wide grip pull ups. I'm going to post revised routine, perhaps you guys can have a look and let me know what you think.

You said your goal was to put on muscle. Have you stopped gaining weight or is it just your lifts that have hit plateaus?

If you've stopped gaining weight, you need to increase your cals. What's your diet like?

Originally Posted by gtbmed

He's an olympic weightlifter. Their training is usually very simple - a lot of cleans, a lot of snatches, a lot of squats, and some pulls.

Now he may do some jump shrugs to work on the second pull, but he's not going to be sitting on a machine doing calf raises.

Also, there's a big difference between a powerlifter and an olympic lifter that gets confused here. Powerlifters may not have the best calves - they aren't doing cleans. Anyone doing cleans is getting a ton of primary stimulation to those muscles. Look at the position a lifter is in during the 2nd pull of a clean and tell me that the calves aren't doing a ton of work in that lift.

If the calves are so important to his lift then why wouldn't he do everything possible to strengthen them?

Originally Posted by PushAndPull

If the calves are so important to his lift then why wouldn't he do everything possible to strengthen them?

He is doing everything possible to strengthen them by doing cleans and snatches. He doesn't have to do any more.

It's like saying why wouldn't a powerlifter do everything possible to strengthen his triceps by doing tricep pulldowns. The guy doesn't need to do them - he gets a ton of tricep stimulation by doing all of his pressing.

Calf raises are essentially no-value added lifts for him.

Originally Posted by gtbmed

He is
It's like saying why wouldn't a powerlifter do everything possible to strengthen his triceps by doing tricep pulldowns. The guy doesn't need to do them - he gets a ton of tricep stimulation by doing all of his pressing.

This simply not true, A powerlifter would use accessory movements to address any possible weak links and improve his lifts. For pressing movements, triceps would be number one on the list, but shoulders and back would also be very important, hell even legs would.